The Impact of Social Networks on Well-Being: Evidence from Latino

Presentation made at Latinos in the Heartland (9th : 2011 : Columbia, Mo.) and published in the annual conference proceedings.A series of studies has questioned the stylized fact that most Latino immigrants favor settling in major cities. The recent wave of immigration into the rural areas has been raising concerns about resource distribution and utilization. Special concerns have been expressed about having immigrants become a public burden thus, depleting local resources that could be employed elsewhere. Therefore, recently, monumental efforts have been put into Latinos' wellbeing research due to its potential to disperse widespread fears of opportunism by Latino immigrant and point out alternative avenues of integration into the community. Recent research has argued that immigrants are both important, as a workforce (Card, 2005; Jacobs, 1969), and detrimental, as free riders of social support services (Borjas, 1999), to the economic development of the receiving communities. However, the claim that Latino immigrants freeride on social welfare services to sustain their well-being seems a little bit confusing since current law does not provide for it; given the implementation of PRWORA. Thus, this study suggests that immigrants have been sustaining or improving well-being through social networks. This paper assesses the impact of social networks on well-being by combining sustainable livelihoods and household production theoretical frameworks. Specifically, emphasis is placed on assets and strategies Latino immigrants use to sustain and improve their well-being in non-urban areas of Missouri. Previous studies on well-being have focused on "economic" well-being thereby using income as a proxy. This study uses a much-expanded concept of well-being, which is subjectively assessed on a scale of 1 to 7, which includes various facets of human behavior. Thus, social network's impact is assessed empirically through ordered Probit regression using primary data from three different non-urban areas of Missouri. It is hypothesized that social networks have positive impact on Latino immigrant's well-being in these non-urban areas. This hypothesis has far-reaching implications in terms of local and regional policy focused on immigrants. For instance, local leaders can tap into these networks to pass important information related to education and economic mobility and opportunities for immigrants living in these areas

Economic Vulnerabilities and opportunities of Hispanics in non-metro Missouri

M.A. University of Missouri--Columbia 2004.Includes bibliographical references.This version of the document differs from the version submitted to the Graduate School titled "Vulnerabilities and opportunities of Hispanics in non-metro Missouri" and available at http://207.160.154.35/record=b5143647Non-metro Missouri has observed a net in-migration in the last decennial period and a great part of these immigrants are Latinos. This research addresses the factors explaining vulnerabilities and economic opportunities of Latinos in non-metro Missouri, using the 2000 Census as well as county level data on racial profiling, and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education database. The livelihoods framework, through the capability accumulation and wellbeing theory, is used in order to look into Latinos economic vulnerability by the practices of local and state enforcement (racial profiling), newcomers human capital, years of work experience, age, and gender, country of origin and mobility. The regression results show that work experience has the greatest impact on Latino's earning ability as compared to any other factor mentioned, which could be translated to their ability to acquire tangible assets. The interaction effect of education and English proficiency shows a very important factor for both foreign and US born Latinos. On the other hand mobility and racial profiling may have a negative effect on income earning ability suggesting a need for exploring these variables further

Impact of social networks on well-being : evidence from Latino immigrants in non-urban Missouri communities

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Oct. 6, 2010).Thesis advisor: Dr. Corinne Valdivia.Ph. D. University of Missouri--Columbia 2010.This dissertation analyzes the impact of social networks on Latino immigrant's livelihoods strategies and outcomes. Using the Sustainable Livelihoods framework, this dissertation hypothesizes that social capital such as bonding, bridging, and linking have positive impacts on Latino immigrant's well-being in rural areas of Missouri. It is hypothesized further that these social resources are conditioned by acculturation and the context of reception, which might reduce or enhance the impact of social capital on well-being. A three step approach is used to test this general hypothesis using Latino immigrant household survey conducted in three areas of rural Missouri as primary source of data. The first step uses a binomial logit regression to assess the characteristics of households with the highest propensity to participate in social networks. The second step uses multinomial logit to assess the impact of networks on occupation. The third step uses the Heckman two-step procedure to assess the impact of social networks on well-being. Results show that Cultural capital and good English ability increase the probability of joining social networks; while discrimination and language pressures decreased the probability of joining networks. It was also found that social networks have significantly positive impacts on livelihood strategies such as employment - sources of information influences where a newly arrived immigrant ends up working. Finally, bonding, bridging, and socio-environmental context have significantly positive impact on well-being.Includes bibliographical reference

The importance of social networks on Latino Immigrants' Well-being in Rural Missouri

Presentation made at Latinos in the Heartland (8th : 2010 : St. Louis, Mo.) and published in the annual conference proceedings.Latino immigrants have been changing their settlement and migration patterns. Recent immigration has seen a different breed of immigrants headed to rural areas, composed of both genders and settled longer in receiving communities. This recent wave of immigration into the rural areas has been raising concerns about resource distribution and use. Recently, monumental efforts have been put into research on Latinos' economic wellbeing because of its potential to disperse widespread fears of opportunism by Latino immigrant and point out alternative avenues of economic integration into the community. Recent research has shown that immigrant workforce is vital to the economic development of the communities receiving them. Besides contributing positively to the generation of income in the community, immigrants infuse these towns with diversity, which is vital to the socioeconomic survival of communities. On the opposite side, some researchers claim that immigrants have been changing most of the small cities they have located in by draining city resources and altering the quality of life. However, the claim that Latino immigrants overwhelm social welfare services to sustain their well-being seems a little bit confusing because current law does not provide for it. A pertinent question is: in light of all these changes, how are immigrants sustaining or improving their well-being. One avenue pointed out by the literature is that Latinos use their social networks for survival in these communities. This approach suggests that besides cost-benefit analysis, individuals factor into their decisions the ability to obtain help from social resources in order to make a living in these communities. Therefore, this study adopts the stance that social networks are really important, and our objective is to assess the impact of these social networks on immigrants' well-being in both Latino and selected Missouri rural communities. Using Sustainable Livelihoods framework as a starting point, this research intends to assess Latinos' well-being in these communities. In this study, a self-defined well-being measure, subjective well-being, is used as the dependent variable. For the independent variables, besides demographic variables, social capital is used as a proxy for social networks. Additionally, better measures of ethnicity and context of reception variables are introduced to help assess both the impact of Latinos in the community as well as the perception that Latinos have of their receiving communities. The study uses ordered probit regression methods to assess the impact of social network use on well-being of Latinos and comparatively assess the differential impact of social networks on Latino immigrants? well-being due to the type of work that they have, irrespective of the areas in which they live

Acculturation, Context of Reception and Capitals Affecting Economic Integration of Latino Newcomers to the Midwest in 2009

Presentation made at Latinos in the Heartland (9th : 2011 : Columbia, Mo.) and published in the annual conference proceedings.Latino immigration to rural areas of the Midwest increased during the 1990s. Through the period 2008-2009 a household survey was conducted in three regions of the Midwest experiencing distinct labor pull factors. The questionnaire was developed using a livelihoods strategies framework. This framework acknowledges the impact of economic variables, as well as social-cultural factors, due to the characteristics of the newcomers, Latino households, which often are foreign born. Unique characteristics of this ethnic group, foreign born, of a rural origin, with lack of English ability, and cultural norms of reciprocity and informal networks, are some of the factors why the sustainable livelihoods framework can contribute to our understanding of what makes it possible for Latinos to settle and integrate. A proxy for the ability to integrate is the income earnings from employment in the community. A semi-log OLS model is specified to measure the effect of capitals, acculturation, and subjective measure of community climate on Latino newcomers' income earnings. Income earnings are used as a proxy for economic accumulation for the dependent variable. A logarithm of wages of individual i is regressed on a vector of capitals of individuals Xi and a vector of perceptions of community characteristics Zt hypothesized to affect the ability of a Latino immigrant to generate income in three regions. The inverse Mill's ratio λ is included to account for selection bias. Thus, the estimations is: L(wage) = βXi + αZt + λ(cπ) + ε where I =1,2 ... n and t = 1,2,3. Here, the β and α are vectors of unknown parameters; and ε represents the error term. X vector includes capitals; three acculturation measures; cultural identity; legal status and individual characteristics. The Z vector includes social networks and a community climate proxy. Data for this study includes three regions of Missouri, obtained from a household survey of 460 Latino/a individuals in non-urban areas of Missouri, collected in 2009. Previous study shows that most Latino immigrants move in search of work, and mobility has a negative impact on foreign-born Latino's income. Thus, mobility is hypothesized to have a negative impact on the income of those Latinos that are not properly documented, given that they are more likely to be foreign born. A composite measure of the social capital is hypothesized to have a positive effect on earnings. Preliminary study shows that integration and assimilation categories of acculturation are positively correlated with well-being; therefore these are hypothesized to affect income positively. We expect context of reception to have a negative effect on earnings, social capital to have a positive effect, education is expected to have a positive effect on earnings, and acculturation (bicultural and assimilation) a positive effect. Gender is expected to have a negative effect on income earnings. The results are expected to influence our understanding of how assets and community context, acculturation and agency influence economic integration of Latinos in their community. This study is also expected to inform the public debate and current policy aimed at immigrants in general

Vulnerabilities and Economic Wellbeing of Hispanic in non-Metro Missouri

Includes bibliographical references.Paper presented at American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Providence, Rhode Island, July 24-27, 2005.Non-metro Missouri has observed a net in-migration in the last decennial period and great part of these immigrants are Latinos (Lazos and Jeanetta). The literature contends that Latinos are being pulled into the rural areas by large agricultural operations and pushed out of urban areas by harsh immigration laws, and low job availability. The "context of reception" (Portes and Rumbaut) of communities where Latino newcomers settle impacts on how well they can integrate to the economy and settle as residents. This research addresses the factors explaining vulnerabilities faced by Latinos, and their economic conditions in non-metro Missouri, using the 2000 Census and Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) as well as county level data on racial profiling and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) database. The livelihoods framework (Chambers and Conway; Valdivia and Gilles; Bebbington; Ellis), a focus on capabilities, capitals, and the enabling context frames the study of the vulnerability of Latinos with respect to economic success. Racial profiling is a measure of the enabling context in communities. Regression of US born Latino wages on educational attainment, English interacting with education, work experience and mobility are significant. For foreign born Latinos significant factors are education, the interaction of education and good and low English ability, gender, work experience, racial profiling, and mobility. Being a foreign born Latina, racial profiling and mobility have all negative effects on earnings. Both low and high English ability interacting with education has a positive impact. Mobility's negative effect suggests further study of moving, which may be related to the Context of Reception.The support of the MU's Cambio Center, and the Strategic Initiatives Research Grant from the University of Missouri Systems are appreciated and made possible part of this study

Trends in the Perception of School Climate and Community Satisfaction in Areas Receiving Hispanic migration in Missouri during the past 15 years

Presented at the Cambio de Colores Conference March 31, 2005 in Columbia, MO.This OSEDA presentation discusses perception of education climate and satisfaction in areas receiving Hispanic migration in the past 15 years. (This presentation material is not included in the conference proceedings.

Migration to rural communities in the Midwest : economic wellbeing and women at the household level

Includes bibliographical references.Migration patterns are changing from large metropolis to rural towns. Rather than temporary migration of male heads of households the patterns are now for families to migrate in various stages. Rural Missouri towns have attracted newcomers. Foreign born Hispanics in non metro Missouri have low income earnings, and education, mobility and being woman have a negative effect on income earnings, as regression results show. The livelihoods of rural newcomers are vulnerable, with low income, multiple adults working in the households and with limited English proficiency. This is consistent with the life stories of women in a small town near a meat processing plant in Missouri.Cambio Center Strategic Research Initiative ProjectThis work was partially funded by the Cambio Center Strategic Research Initiative Project

Networks and Context of Reception in Accumulation Strategies of Latinos in Rural Communities of the Midwest - A Quantitative Analysis

Presentation made at Latinos in the Heartland (8th : 2010 : St. Louis, Mo.) and published in the annual conference proceedings.Migration patterns of Hispanics changed dramatically in the 1990s from large metropolis to rural towns (Lazos and Jeanetta 2002). Migration patterns have also changed, from temporary and male to permanent male and female settlement, in rural areas of the south and the Midwest (Hernandez 2005). The heartland of rural America is experiencing demographic changes that are unprecedented in both their fast pace and diversity they bring to otherwise uniform areas. According to the 2000 Census, Hispanic?s earnings are low, and Hispanics live in homes in which multiple adults work full time and have low skills and limited English proficiency (Hernandez 2005; NCLR 2004; Gibbs, Kusmin and Cromartie 2005). For change to be beneficial and sustainable for every community today and for future generations, the integration process must be based on sound research. Although the challenges faced by education, health care and other service delivery systems are well-documented (Gozdziak & Martin 2005), our attention turns to the assets or capital Latinos bring with them as they settle. Recent developments in the cultural identity literature view culture as a resource from which individuals draw to create strategies to function in various domains of society (Berry 2003). This new orientation shifts us away from a deficit model for thinking about how individuals of different cultures gain and lose in the process of integration to recognizing the multiple ways individuals can adapt in new and ever-changing environments without suffering loss of identity in the process. We focus on what the newcomers offer and how we can engage them in the future development and prosperity of the new settlement communities. A model of capital, capabilities and strategies is developed informed by the sustainable livelihoods framework. The sustainable livelihood strategies model incorporates social and cultural capital into an examination of strategies newcomers employ to accumulate assets, minimize their vulnerability to risk exposure and become part of their new communities. The model accounts for the community climate as a proxy for context of reception in new settlement regions and identifies how it impacts strategies? outcome. Output from focus groups of men and women and photovoice, our qualitative research techniques, informs social and cultural capital constructs in three distinct regions of a Midwestern state. Income impacts of acculturation strategies, social capital, cultural capital and human capital are measured through their regression on income earnings of native and foreign born Latinos. Results provide lessons for policy

The impact of networks and the concept of reception on asset accumulation strategies of Latino newcomers in new settlement communities in the Midwest

Includes bibliographical references.The heartland of America is experiencing unprecedented demographic changes as more Latino newcomers move to rural communities. Our goal is to understand the factors that contribute to the integration and economic contributions of Latino newcomers to the Midwest, using a sustainable livelihood strategies model to focus especially on the roles of identity, acculturation, social capital, and context of reception